"AICA Tour De Kerala Mountain Challenge: Sabarimala, powered by FUJI bikes" turned out to be a huge success story with the participation of 108 riders from across the country. Thank God !
The TDK venue woke up to the tunes of DJ Justin Fernandez at 6:00am on 28th Sep and registrations started flowing in by 6:30am. After a silent prayer, the traditional lamp was lit by the representatives of Muslim, Christian and Hindu communities. The back drop was then covered by the official theme song "We have a Dream of TDK". The inaugural meeting started off at 7:30am which was made gracious by the presence of Sri. S. Harikishore IAS (Dist Collector of Pathanamthitta), Sri. Srinivas A. IPS (District Police Chief, Pathanamthitta), Sri. Varghese Punnen (Secretary, DTPC), N. Sudhakaran (President - Perunad Grama Panchayat) and other political leaders.
After all necessary briefings, the official flag off was done at sharp 8:00am by the Honorable Dist Collector. The participation by the Dist. Collector and Supdt. of Police added color to the event and motivated the other riders as well.
The first rider crossed the finishing ribbon in exactly 2 hours and 50 minutes, proving himself to be the best rider in the TDK Mountain Challenge. About seven minutes (2 hours 57 minutes) later, the second rider also saw the checkered flag. Third rider took 3 hours 7 minutes. The entire race was completed by 1:30 pm and the lunch for the riders as well as the volunteers was provided at a nearby venue. The closing and prize distribution ceremony went off at exactly 2 pm, and the Chief Guest for the same was Sri. Anto Antony (MP of Pathanamthitta). The occasion was also blessed with the presence of Sri. Raju Abraham (MLA), Sri. S. Haridas (Dist. Panchayat Member), Sri. Shiju Mathew (Director, AICA), Sri. Shaji Nair (Fuji Bikes India) etc. The most respected MP gave away the prizes for the first three riders, and the other trophies & medals were given away by other distinguished guests.
First Prize (Fuji Road Bike worth Rs. 49990):
Sri. Ramesh Nagarajan, Chennai
Second Prize (Fuji Hybrid Bike worth Rs. 29990):
Sri. Gokul VR, Chennai
Third Prize (Fuji MTB Bike worth Rs. 28990):
Sri. Muhammed Anees, Kochi
MTB category First Prize:
Sri Vijosh Vicky, Kochi
MTB category Second Prize:
Sri Devendra Singh, Kochi
Female category winner:
Kum. Nidhi Sharma, Delhi
The Eldest Rider:
Dr. Shaji George, Kochi
Sri. Santhosh Thayil (Director, Santos King, Kochi) proposed the vote of thanks and the event went for a final shut down at about 3:30pm.
TDK was noticed for its extraordinary planning & execution, and the bureaucratic as well as social leaders were more than glad to extend their support for a first-time event of this kind. Though there were few minor casualties during the race, the well equipped and ever-ready medical team were on their toes to provide any kind of medical assistance, anywhere.
The participation from many of the cycling clubs calls for special appreciation and extending all possible support to the event as well.
As a precaution, the entire route was cleaned with the help of Fire force twice before the race, and Dist. Collector was kind enough to put the regular road maintenance works on hold for having a smooth conduct of the event. Also the Forest Department and Police Force gave all the support.
Sufficient cooling / nutrition points were provided, but owing to the hot sun and unexpected crowd which gathered for the event, the supply of drinking water fell short at times. The event being declared a "Plastic Free" one, there were practical difficulties in arranging for bottled waters too. We noted all the negatives and suggestions expressed by the riders, well wishers. Thanks for the appreciations.
However, the event as a whole turned out as something to be remembered for the years to come, and the success of the same has given morale and confidence for the organizing team to gear up better for the next year with the support of general public, Govt. Departments (Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Sports, Health etc.).
Thanks for all the riders, supporters, cycling clubs, Dept. of Toursim, Police, Forest, Dist. Collector and all our well wishers.
Signing Off
Team TDK 2014